"No, perhaps a month; but I hope it will be less even than that."
"Oh that Allah would make it less!" she answered.
A long time they lingered in the rose-scented shadows, and then Irar, with her kiss of hope and prayer warm on his lips, strode rapidly back to his home.
Arrived there, he rubbed his body thoroughly with oil to make it mobile and supple, and then sought the slumber that would give him strength for his search.
With the first glinting of dawn he arose, and having partaken of a plain repast, sat down to consider how he should act did he find the pearl.
Should he give the gem to the inspector of the fisheries?
No, for the man was not friendly to him, and might prove false.
The better way would be for himself to carry it to the sultan, and as he laid it at the feet of his royal master, claim the reward that had been offered.
This plan satisfied him, and then another thought arose: How should he hide it from the keen eyes of the watchful guards, whose duty it was to see that no gem was carried away, and who stood ready to search each diver as he appeared above the water?
This was a more difficult problem to settle than was that concerning the way in which the gem should be conveyed to the sultan; and the sun had risen far above the mountains lying eastward from the city before he could devise a plan that seemed to meet his needs.